“Very close to the final stage.” Trump received Zelenskyy at his residence

After a “friendly” conversation between Trump and Putin – who rejects a temporary ceasefire – US and Ukrainian leaders separated again without an agreement. But only between 5 and 10% of the questions remain to be resolved.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, received Ukrainian leader Volodimir Zelenskyy at his residence in Florida this Sunday. Both reported progress and described a “fantastic” meeting in discussions around a new version of a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine.

“I think we are very close to the final stage of negotiations and let’s see what happens. Otherwise, this will drag on for a long time,” said Trump, upon receiving Zelenskyy at his private Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, where he is vacationing.

Before the meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putinand said that he is “very serious” about peace. The Republican stated that there will be “a solid agreement” to guarantee Ukraine’s security, involving European countries.

Alongside Trump, Zelenskyy said he would address the issue of territorial concessions, something that Kiev has come to view as .

Trump told reporters after the meeting that the Ukraine and Russia are “closer” to resolve the issue of disputed territory in the Donbassbut the topic continues to raise challenges.

“The situation is not yet resolved, but we are getting very close. It is a very difficult issue, but I believe it will be resolved”, said the North American.

Trump and Zelenskyy indicated that they are close to a security agreement between the US and Ukraine, but, according to the Republican, there are still some “thorny issues” to be resolved.

After the bilateral meeting in Florida, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenstated that he had a good hour-long conversation, via videoconference, with Trump, Zelenskyy and several European leaders. The official stressed that Europe is ready to continue working with Ukraine and North American partners to consolidate progress in the negotiations.

“Critical to this effort is having unwavering security guarantees from day one,” Von der Leyen wrote in an X post.

Moscow rejects temporary agreement

This Sunday, Russia asked Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbass region, in the east of the country, as a condition for putting an end to the conflict.

Speaking after the conversation between Trump and Putin — which he described as “friendly” — Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told journalists that Kiev should make the “courageous decision” to withdraw from Donbass without delay.

Ukraine’s withdrawal from part of the Donetsk region in Donbass, which is still under Kiev’s control, is a way to reach an agreement.

Ushakov said the two leaders agreed that any temporary ceasefire in Ukraine would only delay a definitive end to the war.

“Russia and the United States share the same position, which is that the Ukrainian and European proposal for a temporary ceasefire […] would only prolong the conflict and would lead to the resumption of hostilities,” said the Russian diplomat.

Russia therefore rejects any temporary interruption, arguing that this would allow Ukraine to rearm.

Ushakov added that the two leaders will speak again after the negotiations in Florida and that this Sunday’s call came from Trump, who, as he said, “wanted to discuss these issues before his meeting with Zelenskyy”.

What the latest version of the peace agreement says

Zelenskyy stated that the 20-point agreement he discussed with Trump would be 90% complete; Trump aimed for 95% completion.

According to the text, Ukraine wants future security guarantees along the lines of NATO Article 5to deter any future aggression by Russia. Kiev wants to maintain its Armed Forces at the current level of 800 thousand soldiers and asks for the definition of a precise date for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union (EU).

Regarding the territorial issue, the proposal provides for the freezing of fighting in Donetsk on the current front lines, with the withdrawal of Ukrainian and Russian forces from the region, in order to facilitate the creation of a neutral and demilitarized zonesupervised by international forces.

The plan also foresees a package of 800 billion dollars (about 726 billion euros) in aid to rebuild Ukraine’s post-war infrastructure and economy, as well as an intensification of negotiations on a free trade agreement with the US.

Kiev also proposes share control of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plantthe largest in Europe, occupied by Russia since the beginning of the war. Half of the energy produced would go to Ukraine and the US would have the right to allocate the other part.